FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011 file photo, people in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, attend the funeral of Maulana Iftikhar the day after he was killed alongside a top commander of the militant Haqqani network in a U.S. missile strike in nearby Miran Shah. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton notified Congress Friday, Sept. 7, 2012, that the Obama administration has declared the Pakistan-based Haqqani network a terrorist body. The move, which bans Americans from doing any business with members of the group and blocks any assets it holds in the United States, could undermine Afghan peace efforts and test fragile U.S.-Pakistani relations. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mahsud, File)

In a report to Congress on Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally designated the militant Haqqani network - responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan - a terrorist organization, two days before a congressional deadline.

Clinton signed the order in Brunei before departing to Vladivostok for the annual Asia Pacific Economic Conference, and State Department officials began notifying senior lawmakers. She issued the report after a last round of internal debate that took place in Washington on Thursday hours before President Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

The decision is the culmination of nearly two years of spirited debate inside the administration that reached a peak in the past month under the pressure of Sunday's reporting deadline.

Several State Department and military officials had argued that designating the organization would help strangle its fundraising activities in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and pressure Pakistan to open a long-expected military offensive against the militants.

Many other senior officials, including several in the White House, expressed deep reservations that blacklisting the group could further damage badly frayed relations with Pakistan, undercut peace talks with the Taliban and possibly jeopardize the fate of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. soldier known to be held by the militants.

But in the past few days, supporters of designating the group apparently eased most concerns or put forward contingencies to mitigate the risks and potential consequences.

"This shows that we are using everything we can to put the squeeze on these guys," said one administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.